Ino's happiness
by chez.09
Summary: Ino finally confessed! But to who? antiShikaino. Chouino Shikatema.


A little anti Shikaino. Chouino and Shikatema.

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>'So.. uh, do you like me?'<p>

Ino fidgeted slightly, her side hair covering half of her blushing face. She almost stuttered confessing. She couldn't dare to look at Shikamaru's face. He was her ideal, a successful ninja that she knows, could replace her dying love for the runaway Uchiha Sasuke. After a while of silence, Ino began to wonder if Shikamaru actually got what she was saying.

'That's cause' she added awkwardly. 'I lov-' she stopped. She couldn't bear to say 'love' right now. '-like you a lot.'

Shikamaru began to scratch his head, and to Ino's surprise and joy, said 'Yeah... I guess.' 'Oh!' Ino gasped, throwing her arms around Shikamaru. 'Im so glad Shikamaru! I'm telling everyone right now.' Ino grabbed his hand, and ignoring his avalanche of 'this is too troublesome' complaints, began to drag him around Konoha.

'Ino let go!' Shikamaru cried in annoyance as they passed a gawping Kiba and Akamaru. But Ino was too preoccupied with her own little world to care. Oh wait till Sakura sees this, she grinned, I've got my happy ending, and shes stuck waiting for... him.

Ino began to feel glum as she remembered Sasuke Uchiha. Meanwhile, Shikamaru took this chance to snap his hand out of her firm grip.

'Listen' he started, walking to Ino, and pushing her under the tree shade, and out of the public's eye. 'Dont hug me like that or pull my hand, its way too troublesome.'

Ino furied in rage, wasn't Shikamaru going to notice the obviously deppressed aura around her? 'Youre my boyfriend now you know! We obviously have to do stuff like this. We should actually be kissing now under this tree!'

Shikamaru blushed wildly, while Ino stared at him in angry silence. 'What?' he backed away. 'Thats way too soon!' Ino gripped her hand firmly, and gnashed her teeth.

''WHAT'? What do you mean 'what'?' She grew more angry as she realised her first lover's quarrel was only minutes after her first confession.

'Shikamaru you lazy, arrogant, JERK! I never want to see your face again!' Ino stormed out of the tree in blind fury, her blonde hair trailing behind her and her muscles tense. She has never been so angry in her life.

Meanwhile Shikamaru stared after her stunned and speechless. His intelligent mind forgot to study about this kind of relationship, and he wondered if they just broke up, only minutes after they got together. 'How troublesome' he thought out loud.

Ino stomped angrily along the crowded road. Her mind was filled with Shikamaru and the hundred-and-fifty ways to kill him when a familiar name-calling snapped her blonde head back to reality.

'Hey, Ino-pig!' Sakura called, approaching her with her pink hair and an unbelieving face. 'I heard from Kiba, you're with Shikamaru?'

Ino didn't know if to nod, or disagree.

'Yeah, obviously' she grimaced. 'We are one happy couple'

'Wow' Sakura crossed her arms. 'Im more impressed with Shikamaru for actually taking you on. You two don't strike me as a couple'

Ino's boiling fury came wildly back again as unwanted memories came rushing back in her head 'Shut up forehead! He loves me!'

Forehead? Sakura thought in disbelief. She was about to say something when a certain boy with equally blonde hair came by. 'Hey I heard from Kiba. Ino youre with Shikamaru? Ino stared at Naruto. She couldn't bear all this commotion anymore and decided to leave the two and walk further.

The crowd of shoppers and children slowly lessened as she walked on to a park filled with trees and shrubbery. She sat down on a nearby bench, and noticed the heads of a familiar trio, busy with training deep inside the cluster of trees. They'll probably ask about him and me again, she thought.

'Oh!' Rock Lee's shining hair came sparkling in the sun as he ran towards Ino. Tenten and Neji walked after him.

'I heard you were with Shikamaru' Tenten said, smiling (much to Ino's exasperated sigh). 'How romantic'.

Ino forced a grin.

'I was surprised though' said Lee. 'You two fought a lot. I kind of thought that you two never got along.'

'Now that you think about..' Neji agreed. 'That's kind of the same for me too.'

Ino sighed, 'Well as they say, opposites attract.'

Tenten noticed her tired expression. 'Are you okay Ino?' she wondered as she sat beside her. Neji and Lee walked away to train even further, and avoid the awkwardness of being in the middle of a girl-to-girl conversation.

'We just had a fight' Ino started. Tenten nodded, imagining the crushing feeling of the first lover's quarrel, right after the first confession. 'Must be horrible..' Tenten agreed.

'Yeah. But the most horrible thing is, I don't think he even cares! He never ran up to me and apologised. I just feel so...'

'Unwanted?' Tenten finished. 'I know what you mean.'

Ino stared at her confused. 'You do?' Tenten smiled warmly in agreement. She looked past the shrubs and to the training pair. But Ino couldn't tell who she was looking at.

'I never get any screentime, you know?' she bursted into tears. 'I mean, why would Hiro Mashima make me if he doesn't even draw me in anything?' Ino looked at her, unable to say anything. Tenten tried to wipe her tears off with her hands but they kept coming like a flood from a broken dam. Awkwardly, Ino decided to walk away.

After a while of walking, Ino was wondering if she should come back and apologise. It was her who suddenly acted in rage, but it should've been him who noticed the change of her attitude, and put a hand on her back and comforted her. Ino stopped. Little kids ran past her laughing playfully.

I remember that time I heard about Sasuke, she thought. It wasn't Shikamaru who put a hand on my back and comforted me. In fact, she thought even further, Shikamaru never even cared did he? I probably annoyed him to no end, and all he did was say 'troublesome' to this and 'troublesome' to that. Ino reminisced about the times she scolded Shikamaru for being too lazy, and him to her for being too (she sighed) troublesome.

Why, she wondered, did she even think that, along the way, he loved her? Her train of doubt was interrupted by a small 'Ino?'

Ino turned, and faced the familiar spiky brown hair of Chouji. The person who comforted her, and never said another bad thing about her, despite Ino's constant teasing of his 'chubbiness' and 'well-roundedness'.

'Chouji!' she exclaimed, 'What are you doing here?'

'Urmm...' Chouji started. 'I wanted to say that, if Shikamaru ever did a bad thing to you. He didn't mean it.' Ino listened intently, as she learned that the reason for Shikamaru's sudden likeness towards Ino was the same reason Ino confessed to him. Shikamaru realised that a relationship with Temari, the sand ninja, was impossible and when Ino confessed to him, decided to give up and rely on her to make him forget. Just like how Ino wanted to forget Uchiha Sasuke. They had something in common after all.

'So...' Chouji walked towards Ino, and patted her shoulder. 'Smile' he grinned. 'Or else you won't look as pretty anymore'

Ino giggled. 'Thanks Chouji.'

Shikamaru looked up, wearily.

The blue sky was blocked with branches and leaves from the towering tree. It was hard to see, and absorb the calmness of the clouds. Hinata and Shino stood standing, and staring at him.

'A-are you sure he's okay?' Hinata stutterred worriedly. Shino's black glasses seemed to gleam from the sunshine.

'Probably. Let's go'

Hinata slowly, and unsteadily walked after him. 'Shino!' she called, as she disappeared with the the public.

Bugs started to climb up Shikamaru's legs, as time continued to pass by as fast as a turtle with two shells.

'Hey, Shikamaru' Ino approached him, has Ino's temper cooled down, Shikamaru thought, or is she about to rage even more? Shikamaru hoped desperately for the latter.

'I've got something important to tell you so stand up!' Ino bossed around, and Shikamaru wearily obeyed her.

Ino seemed to hesitate before starting. 'I'm sorry, for alot of things. Maybe too much to count, but I'm most sorry about asking you out.'

'What are you on about?' he asked.

'You like someone else don't you?'

Shikamaru blushed for the second time that day.

'Then go after her, you are officially no longer my boyfriend.' Ino strutted off, her blonde hair trailing after her, filled with pride and confidence as she left a dumbstruck Shikamaru. Today, she experienced her first confession, her first lover's quarrel, her first break up, and now as she approached an embarrassed Chouji, her first love.


End file.
